Tang's dining table

When Yunchu walked into the Ministry of Rites' exhortation hall with his baggage, he found that the place was deserted.

Deserted does not mean there are few people, but it is very quiet.

The Exhortation Field is a very quiet place, and the feeling of quietness is caused by the hundreds of huge locust trees here.

Dozens of thatched huts are dotted under the big trees. Looking at the quality of the thatch, you can tell that the cost of building these huts is not low.

When Yunchu entered the exhortation field, no one paid attention to him. Looking at the other people sitting alone in the thatched hut, Yunchu came to the best and newest thatched hut and pinched the necks of the people in the room. , and threw him out.

As for who the people inside were, Yun Chu didn't care. He only knew that whether in the Imperial College or in prison, bullies were always the most comfortable group of people.

Since everyone has entered the exhortation field, it means they made a mistake and were sent here by the emperor to reflect on themselves.

The person who was thrown out by Yun Chu was a middle-aged man in his forties. He was obviously an official who was very knowledgeable about current affairs. He was not angry after being thrown out by Yun Chu. He turned over and sat up, dusted off his body, and walked towards him. Yun Chu cupped his hands and said, "My dear friend, you are very strong and you live in this house very well. Can you throw out all my luggage?"

They were all from the province, and naturally there wasn't much luggage in the room. Yun Chu threw his luggage out of the window in an obedient manner.

Seeing this guy silently picking up his luggage on the ground and going to find a new place to live, Yun Chu felt a little regretful.

The emperor threw him into the exhortation field for only one purpose, and that was to suppress him, because there was going to be a very important appointment soon, and Yunchu felt that it had something to do with the troops he commanded during the Fengchan Taishan period.

As for Li Si's matter, it was basically nothing to the emperor, and punishing Yun Chu was just an excuse.

Yunchu believed that it wouldn't be long before Pei Xingxing was inspected and Xue Rengui would be sent here because his feet were not right when he stepped into the palace one day.

Compared with the important matter of commanding troops and horses, Li Si's manipulation of poisons was not a matter of publicity.

It is already the season of autumn in Luoyang City. The thin leaves on the locust trees fall like butterflies one after another. In a short time, the ground is covered with yellow leaves.

The rest of the people in the exhortation field had no intention of watching the excitement. Most of them were reading, and some were walking among the yellow leaves as if they were deep in thought.

Among the nobles of the Tang Dynasty, the backs of scholars have always been straight and upright, like a standing green pine. There are very few people who are hunched over. Therefore, whether it is drawn as a reading picture or a chanting picture, the picture is very beautiful.

Yun Chu used a horizontal knife to chop down a red pine that was rare in the forest. The main reason was that there were many dried pine cones attached to this red pine. He wanted to drink tea but had no fuel.

The sound of the red pine falling to the ground was loud, causing people in the exhortation field to crane their necks to watch.

Yunchu didn't look at them, but instead looked at a few squirrels running away in panic.

After obtaining dozens of large dry pine towers, Yun Chu ignored the poor red pine.

After Yunchu dug out a simple foldable stove and a tea set from his baggage, those who had been eyeing the red pine tree for a long time unceremoniously cut it into pieces. The pine wood was still wet. But it doesn’t matter, it can be used after splitting and drying for two days.

After Yunchu lit a dry pine cone, the first wisp of fireworks since the establishment of the exhortation field rose.

The manager of the warning field came to Yun Chu who was drinking tea with a serious face and said: "Fireworks are strictly prohibited here."

Yun Chu shook his head and said, "Think of another way. This excuse was the one you just came up with."

The steward said: "Confucius said, there is a gentleman who misses the target and seeks for his body instead."

Yun Chu frowned and looked at the talkative little official in front of him and said, "What do you mean? Please explain."

The steward was stunned for a moment. He did not expect that he would meet someone who could not understand "The Doctrine of the Mean" in the exhortation hall for senior officials of the Tang Dynasty.

Then he said: "It means that if you fail to hit the target, you cannot find the fault of the target. You have to find the reason within yourself."

Yun Chu nodded, indicating that he was taught, and then asked: "What's your rank in the Jinshi examination?"

The steward said with a look of astonishment: "No chance of Guizhi selection."

Yun Chu said: "I am the ninth scholar in the imperial examination. Do you think you have the dignity to teach me knowledge in front of me?"

The steward's face suddenly turned red, and he said loudly: "The Master said: If three people are walking together, there must be one who is my teacher."

When Yunchu saw that his tea was boiling again, he kicked the steward away and sat down to drink tea quietly again.

Everyone who came to the exhortation field was very quiet, and no one had ever been as noisy as Yunchu.

This is indeed a place of thinking, a place where the emperor feels that his subjects need to think.

Anyone who can think here can't stay long, it can be three to five days at a time, or ten days and a half at a long time.

Why does the emperor need these people to think quietly? The main reason is to ask these people to think clearly about who they serve and how to serve. Only those who think clearly and pass the emperor's assessment will be reused.

Therefore, no matter how Yunchu does whatever he wants here, the stewards here and those who pretend to think will show the greatest restraint.

Things were just as Yun Chu thought. Just as Yun Chu finished drinking the tea, extinguished the stove and washed the tea sets in the water, Pei Xingjian walked into the exhortation field carrying a huge baggage.

It's been a long time since we last saw this guy. He looked more like a civil servant than a military general. His light green uniform robe was held up high by his belly, like a big green grasshopper.

Seeing Yunchu washing tea sets by the well, Pei Xingjian walked over and asked directly: "Which room do you live in?"

Yunchu pursed his lips. After Pei Xingjian confirmed Yunchu's residence, he walked to the hut next to him and said to the people in the house: "How about you change a place?"

The people in the house watched Pei Xingjian for a long time, and finally left the hut holding their belongings.

Pei Xingjian threw his luggage on the bed, came to Yun Chu again and said, "I may be a pioneer of the former army."

Yun Chu was not in the mood to discuss the issues of the front army and the rear army with him. He looked at the man who had just been expelled by Pei Xingjian and said, "Do you know these people?"

Pei Xingjian said: "I know them, but I'm not familiar with them. These people are officials transferred from the prefectures and counties by your Majesty. It seems that another group of people in the court will be dismissed from office and seize titles."

Yun Chu said: "When Xue Rengui comes, there should be further news from him. But, what is your Majesty doing by bringing the three of us together with these people?"

Pei Xingjian said with a smile: "These people should be the people we mainly dealt with during His Majesty's time at Mount Tai."

Yun Chu said: "I tried it and threw a person out of the house. As a result, he didn't even bother to get angry with me."

Pei Xingjian said: "I also tried it just now, asking people to move, and they will move. It seems that these people are not very willing to be overly intimate with the two of us, but His Majesty wants to lock us together."

Yun Chu smiled and said: "You have also become bad. You clearly know the reason, but I won't tell you if you insist on it."

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Let's see if Xue Rengui can say it."

Yun Chu added: "What's the point of telling us? You should tell your Majesty to be considered a hero."

Pei Xingjian laughed and said, "Being the hero you call me is too costly. Anyway, I will admit defeat."

When Yun Chu saw that Pei Xingjian had become a cowardless person, he was not very willing to pay attention to him, and went straight into the hut to get ready to sleep.

The smile on Pei Xingjian's face disappeared. He made the bed, sighed, and fell on the bed.

At dawn, after Yun Chu and Pei Xingchang had finished washing up, the steward who had been kicked out by Yun Chu brought food with his servants.

Yun Chu took a look, and there was a look of displeasure on his face, because what the steward sent was a portion of military rations.

Before the Tang Dynasty, there was no fixed military ration pattern. They always ate whatever they had. Ever since surplus grain began to appear in Chang'an City, the Tang army began to have the kind of fixed military rations that Yun Chu saw in front of him.

A portion of beef bone fried noodles, a portion of dried meat, a seasoning packet, some dried salted vegetables, and finally a portion of dried bean powder for drinking with water, with salt added to it.

Beef bone fried noodles are made by adding a certain amount of beef bone powder when frying dry flour, and in the middle there is meat oil refined from pigs, cattle, sheep and other fats. During wartime, you can grab a handful and mix it with water to make a good bowl of meat porridge.

As for the dried meat, there is only a finger-long section, which is the product of roasting beef and drying it in the sun.

The lieutenants of the army liked this kind of rations very much, but Yun Chu didn't like it.

After all, Yun Chu had eaten this product many times when he was preparing it in the Chang'an workshop. As for the taste, it was only edible.

Originally, this thing could be made to taste better, at least the flour could be turned into pancakes, the seasonings could be richer, there would be more fat, and a sugar packet could even be added to it.

Such military rations were actually developed in workshops in Chang'an, but unfortunately, Xue Rengui rejected them.

The reason for the refusal was that Xue Rengui did not want to feed the soldiers well. He felt that doing so would weaken the Qin soldiers' combat effectiveness and make the Qin soldiers no longer able to endure hard fighting.

Yun Chu once had a big quarrel with Xue Rengui over this matter, but unfortunately, he could not convince the stubborn donkey commander.

Therefore, Chang'an City distributed the rations to the soldiers for expedition, and the rations at the time of handover became what he saw.

The fried noodles with bone meal are yellowish brown, and after adding water, they are the same color as shit...

Yun Chu just laid his eyes on the face of the steward who liked "The Doctrine of the Mean". This guy just jumped away and kept saying: "This is the rule of the exhortation field."

Because the servants brought boiling water, in a short time, the slightly burnt smell of beef bone fried noodles wafted in the admonishment field.

While smelling the beef stock fried noodles, Yun Chu also smelled the rotten smell coming from Xue Rengui.

Sure enough, after searching for a while, Yun Chu saw Xue Rengui who was drinking beef bone fried noodle soup from the door of a hut on the far side.

Yun Chu looked at the steward and said, "Bring me the No. 2 military ration. Don't tell me you don't have this here."

The steward shook his head repeatedly and said, "Really not."

Just when Yun Chu was about to step forward and beat this guy again, he heard Xue Rengui's voice coming from afar.

"Luoyang doesn't have the No. 2 military ration you mentioned."

Yun Chu looked at Xue Rengui who was walking towards him and said, "In that case, you should explain to me where the 20,000 No. 2 military rations sent to your military camp went?

Could it be that it was taken away by you personally? "

Xue Rengui took a sip of the soup and said with a smile: "Xue never drinks the blood of soldiers. Part of the No. 2 military rations you sent is in the warehouse of Chang'an, and the other part was sent to Nanzhao. I heard that once the soldiers there are When you start to climb up the mountain, it’s hard to get hot food.”

Yun Chu looked at the ugly mark formed around Xue Rengui's mouth when he drank beef bone fried noodles, and snorted: "Bumpkin."

Xue Rengui was accustomed to eating this kind of military rations on weekdays. He stretched out his tongue and swept it around his hairy mouth, then put every remaining beef bone fried noodles into his mouth.

Pei Xingjian also came over with a bowl and said to Yunchu: "There are chopped green onions in this soup, which is very particular."

Xue Rengui sneered and said: "If you want Chang'an soldiers, they can only be Chang'an soldiers. This kind of plan will never succeed in a certain family."

Yun Chu looked at Xue Rengui with his hands behind his back and said, "The generals don't know the soldiers, and the soldiers don't know the generals. Your Majesty has done this to the extreme. He only sent the three of us over for a brief contact with these people before the war. What do you think?" Is this good?"

Xue Rengui sneered and said: "When we form our troops, Captain Zhechong will naturally take action in the battle. Why are you so familiar with Captain Zhechong and even the soldiers under their command?"

Even the brave Yun Chu did not dare to answer this sentence.

"when did you come?"

"I entered the city yesterday evening and arrived here when it got dark. By the way, all the soldiers assigned to you are Chang'an soldiers. Are you satisfied now?"

Yun Chu and Pei Xingjian looked at each other, their expressions were a little sad, and the matter was already very clear.

This time, when leading troops to escort the emperor on his eastward tour, Xue Rengui was the most respected among the three, and Xue Rengui took over the military power unceremoniously.

Among the three people, Pei Xingjian clearly knew that he was leading the rear army, Xue Rengui knew everything, and only Yun Chu didn't know that he was leading the rear army until now.

Although it was just a small chronological issue, the trust of the three people in the emperor's heart can also be seen from this incident.

Yunchu didn't want to eat the No. 1 military ration because he knew where the beef bones in the beef bone fried noodles came from. This stuff was very valuable. It couldn't be the clean bones that the butchers shaved off the meat and stuffed them into stone mills to grind. Bone meal contains a lot of pork bones, sheep bones, and even chicken, duck and goose bones.

Yunchu didn't want to guess the origin of those bones, so he would rather eat the dry food brought from home than eat this thing.

The atmosphere in the exhortation field did not become lively just because of the addition of Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian. On the contrary, since the arrival of Yun Chu and the others, those who came in first had a dead look on their faces all day long, except for those who were against them. Yunchu and the other three maintained the due courtesy and treated these three people as mere air.

It wasn't until Ren Yaxiang, the Minister of War of the Tang Dynasty and the Duke of Anle County, arrived at the exhortation field with a group of people that the atmosphere here became more lively.

Mainly because the fat Minister of War of the Tang Dynasty arrived at the exhortation site and divided the people here into three groups, led by Yunchu, Pei Xingjian and Xue Rengui respectively.

The good thing is that when he was here, Xue Rengui did not have the power to control Yunchu and Pei Xingjian.

Only then did Ren Yaxiang clearly explain the emperor's will. Behind Yun Chu and the others, each had an additional team.

At noon that day, the three teams had already divided their meals. When Yun Chu led his sixteen subordinates and began to eat large pieces of beef, Xue Rengui and Pei Xingjian's subordinates were still eating No. 1 military rations. .

The reason for this change was entirely because the people who came with Ren Yaxiang included a group of accompanying military doctors, and the leaders of these military doctors were Lao He and He Bingshu, who had a serious face and treated all sergeants equally.

Early in the morning, when Xue Rengui led his subordinates to run around the exhortation field, Yun Chu and his subordinates sat around the stove, drinking tea and discussing the problems that the rear army would face.

Pei Xingjian also did the same job as Yunchu. They were former soldiers, and their requirement was to clear away any possible dangers for His Majesty the Emperor. Therefore, Pei Xingjian was very serious this time, and his huge voice kept shouting from the hut. Came from behind, it seems that he still likes Yiyantang.

"That's it. The things we have to do are the most complicated. We are the rear army rather than the reception team. It is not our turn to worry about combat and defense matters. The only thing we need to be responsible to His Majesty is to ensure that the army is not short of food."

Yun Chu held the tea cup and spoke out the mission of his rear army with a smile. Next, it was time to speak freely. Yun Chu really wanted to learn from the speeches of his subordinates, and wanted to see the emperor's execution of "the soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the soldiers." How determined is it?

According to the history of the Tang Dynasty, this strategy was not implemented very well. If it had been implemented, how could the disaster of vassal towns have come from the Tang Dynasty?